MORENO VALLEY: City attorney leaves in 'mutual' decision

The Moreno Valley City Council has parted ways with City Attorney Suzanne Bryant after a month of closed-door discussions about her possible termination.

Mayor Jesse Molina said the council agreed on a separation agreement with Bryant following those meetings.

The agreement, released Tuesday, April 21, states that Bryant is on paid administrative leave from April 15 to Sept. 2. During that time she must assist the city if asked but is “otherwise relieved of her duties,” the pact dated April 15states.

The city and Bryant also agreed not to make disparaging comments about each other.

“She’s no longer working here,” Molina said. “It was a mutual agreement.”

Bryant’s name and photo were removed from the city’s website and the city attorney’s position was listed as vacant as of Tuesday.

Reached by phone at home, Bryant described her departure as mutual but said she was not given reasons for the council’s recent discussions of her performance.

“I provided the city with the best service and represented the city to my best ability,” she said. “I wish the city the best of luck trying to move forward.”

Mike Jenkins of the Los Angeles-based law firm of Jenkins & Hogin has stepped in for now as city attorney, Molina said. The firm serves as city attorney for several cities, including Chino Hills.

Last month, at Molina’s request, the council held a closed session to evaluate Bryant’s performance. The council had two more closed session meetings, most recently April 14, to discuss her discipline, dismissal or removal, but reported no action at the time. Molina said he could not comment on those discussions.

Under her contract, Bryant is entitled to a year’s salary if fired without cause. As city attorney, she made $185,000 a year.

Under the negotiated agreement, Bryant will get $70,878 in accrued leave plus another $156,756 severance pay. She is also entitled to any remaining sick or other leave time she has, plus 18 months of health coverage.

Bryant, who has been city attorney for two years, leaves under similar circumstances as her predecessor.

Shortly after a new council majority took office in November 2012, then-City Attorney Robert Hansen was put on paid administrative leave after the council held a closed meeting where they discussed his possible termination. Shortly after, he retired. He later took a deputy city attorney post with Riverside.

At the time, some current and former city officials said Hansen’s job was in jeopardy due to legal opinions he recommended on the Skecher’s warehouse project and code enforcement actions against then-Councilman Marcelo Co.

Bryant’s departure comes months after a new council majority made up of Molina, Giba and Gutierrez took over after the November election.

In February, Bryant expressed reservations about a council policy introduced by Gutierrez that gave council members a greater role in personnel decisions. The policy, eventually approved on a 3-2 vote by the new council majority, requires the city manager to submit decisions on promotions, hirings and firings to the council for ratification. It marks a change from the practice of most cities, which leave day-to-day operations to a city manager and make the council responsible for setting policy and approving budgets.

Moreno Valley has faced some legal setbacks during Bryant’s tenure as she defended actions taken by the council in court.

Last year, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled that the council’s appointment of Gutierrez to a vacant council seat in August 2013 was illegal in a decision that was upheld by an appeals court and the State Supreme Court. In February 2014, a Sacramento County judge dismissed a city lawsuit against the March Joint Powers Authority aimed at blocking a medical complex.

In January, the city paid $1.2 million to settle a wrongful termination case by two former city employees who alleged they lost their jobs for looking into code enforcement violations by a former councilman. A few months earlier, the city also agreed to reinstate Paul Early to his deputy city attorney job and pay him $200,000 as part of that same lawsuit.

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